Grand Ledge High School implemented a new phone policy at the beginning that sparked controversy amongst the student body. Some believe it to be helpful to their education, while others find it to be an extreme measure.
When asked about the cell phone policy five out of five students stated that they do not find the cell phone policy to be an extreme measure.
Some students say they find it to be a bit unfair that they cannot go on their phones in class because of the consequences of those who chose to disobey the policy.
“ I feel like if you have bad grades and it’s because of your phone then it would make sense but if you have good grades and want to be able to use it for music you should be able to,” junior Isabela Blixt said. Even with the thought of finding the cell phone policy to be unfair, most students agreed that with the policy in place, they have been more productive in class then they were in the past. Teachers have noticed this as well, many agreed that their students have been more productive in class. Teachers have also noticed that their students have become more social as well.
“One thing I’ve also noticed besides just students working on what they’re supposed to be working on in class is that there’s more socializing going on, definitely more conversations happening than just students looking at their cell phones which I think is a good thing but now as teachers it’s something we will have to begin managing,” Mr. Iturralde, a new teacher at Grand Ledge High School said. One thing that some teachers and many students find questionable is punishment given to those who break the policy. Most students stating that they find three out of the five punishments to be reasonable. The first punishment consists of students putting their phone in the cell phone holder for the rest of the class period. The second requires students to put their phone in the cell phone holder for the remainder of the day. The third punishment asks students to put their phone in the cell phone holder for the remainder of the school day along with a 10 day behavior plan. The fourth consists of putting your phone in the cell phone holder for the remainder of the day along with a 20 day behavior plan and the fifth punishment requires a 40 day behavior plan and one day out-of-school suspension.
Many teachers at the high school agree that as long as staff continues to enforce the policy, it will continue to work.
“I would assume it’s going to stay as long as we are consistent with it cause what’s true with any policy is long as teachers follow it and administration follows it and then supports teachers in doing that then it will continue, so as long as we have that support then yes it will and it should continue,” Mr. Westra-Hall, an English and Journalism teacher at Grand Ledge High School said.
